Meeting at Night
by anakinlove
Summary: Somehow, they all end up in Bruce's bed.


**Hey guys, sorry about not posting in a while, i've been up to my ears in ap biology work (did you know a spider climbs a wall by instigating van der walls forces in between the molecules of the little hairs on it's feet and te molecules on the wall, cool huh, which of course makes spiderman even more unreasonable being that he was wearing gloves and shoes so the presence of the little hairs should have been nullified, but whatever) and college applications (i got into the fransiscan university of stuebanville! so excited, now all i need is twenty seven thousand dollars :) too bad i'm poor) anyway, now that the worst is behind me (at least for now) i should be able to get cracking and get more stuff. God bless all yall and pray that cash rains down upon me**

Jason stretched and yawned, feeling sore and upset. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but something kept him from drifting into dreamland, perhaps some demon come to haunt him. Blinking slowly, he leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. But, a moment later, he was again roused by nightmares, potent and savage.

Sitting up in bed, Jason panted and sweated. Grunting and grumbling, he padded over to the window. The cold air probably helped keep him on edge, but Jason knew that if he closed the window, it would make him feel too trapped, as though he were frozen in a snare with no escape.

Giving a heavy sigh, he leaned against the wall, and gazed across the room at the light just barely leaking in. His brothers were probably slumbering soundly, or else still awake but with nothing too deeply troubling. Jason hadn't wanted to spend the night at his father's house, but necessity had dictated he must.

Things were…better, to say the least, between the two of them and between him and the rest of the family. The others accepted his presence, not quite warmly, but openly. They were a tightly knit bunch and Jason would be lying if he said he didn't wish to again be a part of that. There seemed almost to be a wall there though.

Damian and Tim both treated him with respect and accepted him as one of their number, despite the fact that he had injured and harassed both of them. Dick was by far the most affectionate, cuddly and warm as ever, but there was something different about their relationship now.

There was wariness in Dick's eyes when Jason was with his younger brothers, a distrust he could not deny. Tim and Damian both accepted what had been done to them, for they were used to being hurt by those with whom they were related. Dick, on the other hand, was vicious when it came to his younger brothers, especially Tim.

Though Dick loved all of them equally, something that was apparent in every aspect of his manner, Tim was especially protected because Dick considered him the most vulnerable, though he would never admit it, even to himself. Jason had tried to murder Tim on more than one occasion and that, to Dick at least, was cause enough for adamant, invasive concern. Jason knew this, but what could he do?

Finally deciding he was too exhausted to even consider sleeping anymore, he padded out of his room and into the halls of the manor. None of it's occupants crossed his path so he continued on, not really thinking, until his muscle memory brought him to where a well worn spot of carpet stood as a testimony to many a frightened, tired young Robin, pausing before facing sweet solace, in front of the master bedroom.

For a moment, Jason froze. Then, he slowly pushed the door open. Bruce was asleep, curled up among his sheets and blankets. Jason paused for a mere moment, gazing at his slumbering form. The urge to join him in bed was as potent as it was repulsive. Jason was literally torn apart by the indecision.

Finally, after being rooted in one spot for what seemed like an eternity, he turned, intending to leave. "Damian?" the sleepy voice questioned. At first, Jason considered remaining silent, but the remark escaped his lips before he could bite it back.

"Not quite right old man, you're losing your touch."

"Jason", Bruce said softly, blinking as he slowly sat up. A quick snap of his fingers and the lights were on. Jason stood, feeling foolish, in the doorway. "Bad dream?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded and then, all at once, felt dreadfully tired of being on edge, of arguing, of being angry with this man. He just wanted to feel like a family again.

"Yea", he muttered darkly, "can't seem to sleep. Stupid dreams. Been having them for months." Bruce gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know how you feel. Those reoccurring ones suck more than the regular ones." Jason smiled ruefully.

"Unless you strongly object", he murmured, "I'm just gonna crawl in with you for at least a little while. We can talk. I've been meaning to catch up with you." Bruce's eyes seemed to light up like the sun.

"Of course", he said, "come on over." Jason padded to the bed and lay down heavily atop it with a grunt. "You look sore", Bruce said gently, propping himself up on his elbow, "what have you been putting yourself through lately?" Jason grinned.

"Rigorous training regimes of course, what else?"

"Take a break every once in a while." Jason rolled his eyes and gave Bruce a playful shove.

"You just worry too much." Bruce shoved back.

"And you not enough." Jason stuck his tongue out. Then, his eyes caught the bedside table. There, standing atop it, were a few picture frames. The first one contained a photo of Bruce's parents.

The second had a family photo from when the others had taken a vacation to the beach without him; Damian perched on Dick's shoulders, who had his arm around Tim.

But, the third was the one that caught Jason's eye. It was of him when he had been much younger, perhaps eleven or twelve, pistachio ice cream all over his lips and shirt and a big grin on his face, his red hair askew with wind and his blue eyes shinning.

"When was this?" Jason asked, rolling over to pick up the picture. He knelt in front of Bruce, perched on his calves. Bruce too got up and smiled, gazing at the photo.

"We were on the docks that one day and you begged and begged until I got you that ice cream and then you got it all over you because it melted so fast. Alfred was mad, but I thought it was pretty cute, so I had to take a picture." Jason giggled.

"I do remember that." He grinned at Bruce and then put the picture down. "How long have you had that by your bed?"

"Since you…" Bruce looked away guiltily suddenly "…well, when it happened, it took me a little bit to start remembering all the good times we had. That was supposed to help me." Jason gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"We did have a lot of good times, didn't we?" Bruce nodded and then gazed at Jason until the younger man brushed one of his auburn tresses out of his eyes.

"What?"

"You should cut your hair." Jason rolled his eyes and lay down.

"I'm not gonna cut my hair."

"You really ought to, it doesn't look good?"

"Bruce, I don't care", Jason replied sassily.

"You ought to", Bruce said, "you don't want to look like a hobo, do you? You should shave too. I'm sorry, but the prickly look does not work for you." Jason smirked and rolled over on his side, his back to Bruce, waving his hand dismissively.

"You're just too opinionated."

"Come on Jason", Bruce whined, rolling the younger man over onto his back, "I'm just not a fan of facial hair. Remember when Dick grew that moustache." Jason burst out laughing.

"That rat growing on his upper lip", he roared, "Ohh it was so ugly."

"He was so proud", Bruce guffawed, "but it was the nastiest thing I'd ever seen." They both deteriorated into frantic giggles, lying on the bed next to each other.

It wasn't that Dick couldn't sleep. He could, if he chose to, he just didn't. After all, there were things to be attended to. Dick loved Jason dearly, more than he loved himself, but the fact remained that where Jason was, Tim and Damian were not safe, Tim more so than Damian.

Usually, wherever Tim was, it wasn't safe (at least it seemed that way to Dick) but Jason was an obvious threat. So, getting out of bed, Dick padded down to Jason's room, just to peek in and make sure his little brother was sleeping soundly. A start went though his whole frame when the younger man was not present.

The bed was empty, the window was open and there was no trace of the Red Hood. Heart pounding, Dick made a beeline for Tim's room. He almost fainted with relief when he found Tim, sleeping like a rock with no Jason in sight.

After checking Damian's room and finding the boy also safe in bed, he decided to make his way to Bruce's room, to inform him that the second eldest Wayne child was absent. His surprise was total when he heard Bruce's raucous laughter coming from within.

Cautiously pushing open the door, he peered inside and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at the sight. Jason was holding two rolled up tissues, right below his nose on his upper lip, kneeling in front of Bruce who seemed practically unable to breathe and was lying on his side on the bed.

Jason too, seemed unable to handle it for a moment more and discarded the tissues, collapsing next to Bruce. Dick thought for a moment what they could be laughing at, spending a moment racking his brain before he came up with an answer.

"Aw, come on guys, the moustache was not that funny." Bruce and Jason looked at each other for a moment and then erupted into roaring laughter once more.

"I'm sorry Dick", Bruce gasped, "but it was just so drugly. You looked like one of those Mexican outlaws from those old movies, you know, the ones with the giant handle bar moustaches." Jason giggled some more.

"Face it Dickie bird, your fashion choices have not been the best in the past few years.' Dick rolled his eyes and made a flying leap onto the bed. It was so good to see Bruce and Jason getting along and enjoying each other's company. Dick could think of nothing better in the world. "Come on Jason", Dick said, eyes glinting wickedly. Jason grinned widely and launched himself at Bruce, Dick in his wake, and the two eldest bat kids held the older man down, one on each of his arms. "Aww, come on guys", Bruce groaned as Dick settled onto his chest, "you two are too big for that now."

"We used to do this to him when you were little, remember Jay?" Jason nodded exuberantly. "Only now you fit better on my lap than I do on yours." At that moment, Bruce gathered his strength for a counter attack and shoved the two boys off, sending them toppling to the edges of the beds with squeals of indignation. In a moment, he had hauled both of them down and perched atop of them.

"Hmm", he said playfully, "seems to me this was how most of your attacks ended." Dick giggled with Jason as they both gazed up at him adoringly. Bruce rolled off them, sitting beside the panting younger men. Jason picked himself up, finally managing to sit up. Dick, however, remained lying on the bed, too out of breath to move. He felt so happy at that moment, he could barely describe it. Bruce, sitting between the two of them, reached out and ran a hand through Jason's hair. His attention then turned to Dick. Running a hand over the younger man's cheek, he smiled.

Dick returned a grin, relishing the caress. "Remember when we went to New Port that one time and we all ended up stuck in that tiny hotel room with only one bathroom and Dick was sick all night because he ate bad sushi", Jason said suddenly. Bruce gave a moan.

"Ohh, I do remember that, Dick, you did some pretty dumb stuff in your day."

"Not as dumb as when Jason thought it would be a good idea to completely disregard the "don't feed the deer" sign at the petting zoo and ended up treed by a bunch of angry does for three hours." Bruce snickered and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Yea, yea, yuck it up, it just so happens the view was exceptional from up there in that tree."

Tim woke up, panting and sweating with tears running down his cheeks. Sobbing quietly, he sat up in bed, shaking from the nightmare that had gripped him so violently. At first, he tried to calm himself with a deep breathing technique but sitting quietly in the darkness seemed merely to intensify his fears and, unable to hold anything back any longer, Tim dragged himself out of bed and padded swiftly down the hall.

He didn't want to get out of bed. He wanted to sit beneath his sheets and scream for Bruce until the older man showed up, taking him into his strong, protecting arms, but Tim was not a little child anymore. He could go to Bruce. Not even pausing, Tim slammed open the door and stood in the doorway, his heart sinking even lower as he witnessed Bruce sitting with Dick and Jason, all three pairs of blue eyes gazing interestedly at him.

Tim gave a hiccup and two more tears trickled down his pink cheeks. "Sorry", he said softly.

"Timmy", Bruce murmured, and got up, immediately putting his arms around Tim tightly. The hug helped, as did Bruce's strong hand around his weak, trembling one as the older man led him over to the bed. Bruce gently wiped the tears from Tim's eyes.

"Nightmare?" he asked gently, running a hand through Tim's dark hair. Tim nodded, still trembling.

"Seems to be a night for those", Jason murmured, moving in a little closer, "did it have me in it?" Tim shook his head wordlessly, gazing at them with abashment in his eyes. He hadn't wanted them to see him like this, especially Jason. Bruce pulled him close again and Tim felt worlds better. Dick also huddled in close, stroking his hair.

"What was your nightmare little bird?" he asked gently. Tim just shook his head, opting for silence.

"Alright", Bruce soothed, "lets just relax for a few minutes." Dick and Jason nodded and Bruce scooted back, leaning against the backboard with Tim still cradled gently in his arms. Tim buried his head in Bruce's bare chest, clutching slightly.

For the longest time, they were silent together, Tim relaxing with Jason and Dick crowded around him, giving him comfort with their mere presence. The wind twisted through the tree branches outside, causing them to scratch the window. Tim started but Bruce murmured softly to him, stroking his hair and holding him gently but firmly, like a mother lion holds her cub, all the protectiveness and barely concealed power in rippling muscles and steely, determined, hunting eyes as any savannah cat.

Jason suddenly reached out and gently stroked Tim's cheek, the tender gesture born of a sudden affection the young man found in his heart, moved by the vulnerability in the teenager's slight form. Dick stiffened and his eyes darkened a bit, his weight shifting, but he needn't have bothered; Tim knew Jason wasn't going to hurt him, the gratefulness in his eyes shinning for the Red Hood.

"I…I dreamed you were dead again", Tim said softly, gazing up at Bruce.

"Well, it's ok Timmy, 'cause I'm not and we're safe, I promise." Tim gave a sigh and sat up a bit on Bruce's lap.

"I'm sorry", he grumbled, "look at me, so stupid, so frightened."

"It's alright Tim", Dick said fondly, "nobody here cares, we all have nightmares."

"Why do you think I ended up in here?" Jason said. Tim turned to him. Jason shrugged. "Same reason."

"I hate it", Tim mumbled, head hung in defeat.

"We all do", Bruce said affectionately, his eyes turned gentle with commiseration, "but we deal as best we can." Tim gave a sigh and sat up to face them, a half sardonic smile on his face.

"You think there's any way to fix it?" Bruce smiled and shook his head.

"No."

"I bet there is", Dick said snidely, "I bet Bruce just hides it from the rest of the world because he likes us running in here at night to be with him."

"Sounds plausible", Jason smirked, giving Bruce a shove.

"Ohh no", Bruce said dryly, "I've been caught, whatever shall I do now?" Dick cracked a grin, unable to hold it back.

"I have to admit though", the eldest Wayne child said, "if I found a cure, I'd be tempted to hide it. After all, that's about the only time Damian shows any sort of emotion, when he's darting in to hide under the covers with me."

"It's all Timmy's fault", Jason snarled playfully.

"My fault", Tim yelped, "why my fault?"

"You're the one he likes having around. You're the baby."

"Not anymore I'm not."

"Aww, face it", Jason scoffed, "you're always gonna be the baby, just like you're probably always gonna be the shortest."

"Jerk", Tim snapped lightheartedly. Jason giggled wickedly and grabbed Tim in a headlock, ruffling his hair.

"Aww, come on" Tim moaned, wrestling to get out of his grasp, "leave me alone. Bruce, Dick help, Jason's gonna kill me." But, both of them were laughing as well. Dick's eyes had flashed dangerously when Jason had reached out and grabbed Tim, but Bruce wasn't on edge so he saw no reason to assume it was anything more than family teasing.

"Alright Jason, leave him alone", Bruce chuckled.

"Nah ah", Jason said, swinging Tim around and holding him with one arm around his chest and the other poised at the younger man's side, "come one little bit closer and I'll tickle him to death." For emphasis, Jason wiggled his fingers in Tim's side until the boy cried for mercy, writhing in the Red Hood's grasp.

"Jason", he shrieked, "you're gonna make me pee."

"Not on my bed he's not", Bruce said dryly. Tim giggled, wrapped in Jason's grip. The older man was not holding him painfully or invasively. The gentle whoosh of Jason's breath over his shoulder felt warm and nice and Tim couldn't help but feel at least a little happy that Jason felt comfortable enough to play with him like this.

Tim, for his part, felt no concern whatsoever that Jason would hurt him. He knew the older man had possibly the most control of anyone, except perhaps Bruce himself, and knew his abilities absolutely. If the Red Hood's intent was not malignant, Tim knew he had nothing to fear from him.

"I'm going in for a frontal assault", Dick announced, lunging for Jason.

"No, Dick no", Tim squealed, wriggling like a worm on the end of a hook as Jason intensified his tickling. Dick landed on the two of them and they toppled into a giggling heap, Tim on the bottom with Jason's arms still wrapped around him. He felt warmer and safer than he had all evening, altogether much better and very happy he had come to Bruce's room.

Bruce rolled his eyes and pulled a giggling Dick Grayson off the pile. "You're gonna suffocate Tim."

"Aww, Timmy's pretty durable", Dick replied, "huh Tim." Tim grinned as Jason sat back up, still holding onto him.

"Yea," Jason agreed, ruffling his hair, "he's Timmy 2.0." Tim grinned up at him and surprised both himself and Jason by leaning back into the older man's embrace. Used to being mollycoddled now by both Dick and Bruce, the gesture meant very little to him (it came almost naturally in fact) but he knew it would mean a lot to Jason.

Jason stiffened for a moment and then relaxed, his arms still gently around Tim. Tim's eyelids fluttered slightly and he ran his tongue over his teeth, settling in. Dick grinned broadly. "We have so much fun together." Jason nodded.

"Yup, I guess we do."

"How about Kory and Roy", Bruce teased, "You enjoy them as much?"

"Now, now", Jason cautioned, "we don't speak of my extracurriculars, remember?"

"That bad huh?" Tim said. Jason rolled his eyes and pinched the boy's cheek.

"Careful kid, you start talking like that and you won't be so cute no more." Tim sat back up with a yawn, stretching.

"You know, I bet we woke up Damian with all the noise we're making."

Damian had been listening to the ruckus from the other room for quite a long time. At first, he had just hoped they might settle out on their own, but once it became apparent that was not to be, he gave a sigh and got up. Damian was tired. It had been a long night and he'd been avoiding everyone all evening.

Struck by one of his moods, Damian hadn't wanted anyone's company. He'd been feeling the disquiet all evening, so much so he had skipped the usual post patrol check up, insisting he was fine, despite the fact that he was sore all over and wanted someone to rub his back until the kinks were out and perhaps minister to his wounds a bit.

But, most of all, he wanted to be warm and comfortable for a while. The bed had helped with that, but his aching form had kept the relief from coming. Slowly, the ten-year-old padded, following the noise, to Bruce's room, pausing for a moment in front of the door when he heard his name.

Dick's boisterous voice lit up the night, as obtrusive as the smell of coffee in the early morning. "Of course Damian's had all his shots, why kind of big brother slash guardian do you think I am?"

"Did you get yours?" That was quite clearly his father's voice, which was to be expected being that it was his father's room. Why Dick was present was no great mystery either. Dick simply enjoyed his adoptive father's company.

"Yes, I got all mine, but I don't think Timmy got all his."

"Tim?"

"Well, you know, when the time gets away from you…" There, that was Tim's voice. So Tim was present as well; still not too much of a surprise, Damian happened to know the young man often enjoyed spending time in late night conversation with the other two.

"Tim", Bruce moaned, "You need to get them. That's it, you can't go after Killer Croc with me tomorrow."

"Aww Bruce, come on!"

"What happens if you get bitten?"

"Sorry baby bird, sounds like you're grounded." Damian was quite surprised by this voice, for it did not belong with the others. What was Jason doing in his father's room?

"I happen to know for a fact that you haven't had yours either young man", Bruce growled.

"Aww, come on Dad, give it a rest, I don't even live here anymore."

"No, both you two are getting them. I'll purchase the inoculations and do it myself tomorrow afternoon."

"Dad!"

"Bruce!"

"Come on", Jason whined, "we're adults."

"Your adult status will be reinstated when you have had your shots." Dick snickered. Damian was confused.

"Jason sounded so carefree, so…happy." He never sounded that way when Bruce was around, nor were Dick and Tim usually so at ease. They all seemed to be getting along that evening, brought together by some sort of family bonding, a memo for which Damian had apparently missed.

Peering through the doorway, he saw them all sitting together on the bed in boxers and pajama pants, smiling and giggling and altogether looking totally at ease and completely pleased with each other's company. And Damian was struck motionless for what seemed like an eternity. They were so happy…without him.

Feeling lower than the dirt, Damian closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Why was it he never felt like he belonged, not ever? He had given up his birthright for this, but he wasn't truly even a part of it. A single tear trickled down the young boy's cheek before he turned, intending to go back to bed.

It was then that another loud shout of laughter lit up the night and Damian felt a surge of anger. If they were going to leave him out, the least they could do was let him sleep. Barging in, Damian stood in the doorway, a scowl on his face. "Some of us are trying to sleep", he snarled.

The four of them turned, his father and his older brothers, gazing at him with interest in their blue eyes. "I'm sorry teddy bear", Dick said placatingly, "we didn't mean to wake you up. We'll keep it down, I promise." Damian grumbled under his breath and turned to walk out.

"He's favoring his foot quite a bit dad", Jason said. Damian was sure he had imagined the slight concern in the man's voice.

"You're right, Damian come here." Damian turned, a scowl on his face.

"What", he snapped.

"Come here", Bruce repeated, beckoning him over. Damian slowly clambered up onto the bed, minding his foot and sat in front of his father. "Let me see", Bruce instructed. Damian gave a grunt of annoyance but extended his foot. Dick was immediately hovering behind him, Tim beside him.

"Hmm", Bruce murmured, lifting Damian's foot gently, "it looks like you twisted this ankle. Did you put ice on it?" Damian nodded. "It should be alright soon."

"Bruce, it looks like he's got a nasty cut back here." Bruce picked Damian up and turned him around, easing his shirt aside. He hissed in commiseration.

"Jason, go get me the med kit, would you?" Jason nodded and was off in a heartbeat. "Now, why didn't you come to me after patrol and show me this, hmm?" Bruce asked. Damian shrugged. Jason was back a moment later with the kit Bruce had requested and watched with interest as cleaned and bandaged the wound, taking extra care to gently smooth pain killing disinfectant over the wound. Damian couldn't hold back the sigh of relief.

"Young man, you know the rules, you're supposed to always get checked out after patrol." Damian gave a huff. "Alright, I might as well do it now, take off your shirt." Damian reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt, baring his back to his father. Bruce's eyes probed quickly, assessing damage.

"You look fine, I think you'll be ok, but you're awfully stiff Damian." The boy shrugged and started to pull back on his shirt. "Wait", Bruce said, putting a warm hand on his back, "let me see if I can help loosen you up a little."

With that, the Dark Knight's fingers eased their way into the knots of his son's back. Damian gave a heavy sigh and couldn't help but lean into the touch. Bruce smirked. "Feels pretty good. I could have done this ages ago if you'd come to me."

"That's Damian for you", Dick muttered affectionately. Damian gazed at all of them for a moment and felt overwhelmingly that he was intruding.

"I'll go", he said suddenly, turning to get off the bed.

"You can stay if you want", Jason called after him, "we're just chilling." Damian shook his head.

"Nobody wants me here anyway", he muttered darkly.

"Ohh", Dick said softly, "Bruce, he was feeling left out." It was uncanny how Dick always knew what he was feeling, despite the fact that it had seemed, at least to the youngest son of the Batman, that he had left no indication of anything other than annoyance. The hurt must have been more obvious than he had thought.

"Son", Bruce said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "nobody's trying to get rid of you. Of course we want you here." Damian turned a little, gazing at him with the most lost expression Bruce had ever seen. The Dark Knight reached out and scooped up Damian, holding him close. "You're part of this family Damian, everyone wants you here." Damian gave a snort and pulled back.

"Yea right", he grumbled, "you all sounded just fine without me." Tim rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so sensitive d, we all kind of just ended up in here, this wasn't exactly planned."

"Yea", Jason agreed, "I showed up because I had couldn't sleep then Dick showed up to make sure I hadn't murdered Timmy in his sleep then Timmy showed up because he had a night terror."

"Hold on", Dick said, "that is not why I came here."

"Don't even bother Dick", Jason grumbled, "everyone knows it's true."

"Alright", Bruce said placatingly, "I don't think this is the time for that."

"When is the time?" Jason challenged, eyes flashing. Bruce put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hush", he said softly, "nobody here has anything against you and you've got nothing to prove. Dick's being overprotective because you have to admit, at least to yourself, that your track record is not the greatest. I, however, know you well enough to trust you. Ok?" Jason closed his eyes, breathed out deeply, and gazed at the four pairs of blue eyes watching him.

"I know", he murmured, "I'm sorry."

"No", Dick amended, "I'm sorry. I should have trusted you."

"You had no reason too", Jason said ruefully. Dick gazed at him for a moment and then launched himself at the younger man, wrapping his arms tightly around him. "Aww, Dick", Jason moaned.

"Well, now I feel awful", Dick whimpered, "let me hug you for a sec." Jason rolled his eyes and Tim smirked.

"Alright", Jason said after about a minute and a half, "that's it, we're done." He shoved Dick off, who retreated, grinning widely, and dragged a grunting Tim up onto his lap for good measure. Tim scowled and Dick draped his arms over his younger brother, chin resting on the boy's dark hair.

"It's so nice to have everyone here", he murmured happily.

"It is, isn't it", Bruce replied, smiling with Damian still cradled gently in his arms.

"We don't get time like this anymore", Tim said wistfully. They were silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's company, before Dick broke the stillness.

"You know, I went to go see the dinosaurs in the museum yesterday with Wally." Everyone stared at him for a moment.

"Did his kids go with you?" Tim asked slowly.

"No", Dick replied brightly, "it was just us."

"Ahh, Dick", Jason sighed, "You and your man dates."

"It's not a man date", Dick whined, "its just two good friends going to see some dinosaurs."

"Yea," Jason said wickedly, "was one of 'em the trysexatops."

"First of all", Dick snapped, "that's not a real dinosaur and second, dinosaurs are cool. We saw the t-rex and the velocoratper and the erectapus." Jason started to giggled. Dick glowered at him.

"That's a real dinosaur?" Jason snickered.

"Yes", Dick asserted angrily, "it is. And excuse me Mr. "I spend all my time with Roy Harper"."

"Hey", Jason said, "too be fair, I also have Kory around and lets be honest here, I ain't looken at Roy." Dick rolled his eyes.

"Anyway", Bruce said forcibly, "how have things been going for you Timmy?" Tim grinned.

"Great, the Titans have been great lately. We work together pretty well."

"How's your love life Timmy?" Dick asked. Tim rolled his eyes and Dick gave him an affectionate squeeze.

"Obviously", Jason said, "we need to hook the kid up. He clearly needs it."

"I'm fine", Tim replied.

"Come on", Dick said, "what are big brothers for?"

"Yea", Jason said, "other than embarrassment and abuse."

"That too", Dick said brightly.

"Maybe", Bruce said lightly, "we could try Damian on the Titans again."

"Aww", Tim groaned, "no." Damian snorted and, peering out from behind his father's arms, scowled.

"While I have little doubt in my mind my presence would positively affect the cretins, I do not wish to spend time with such degenerates."

"Yea", Tim agreed, "make him go hang out with Jason."

"Woah, woah", Jason said, "hold up, Kory doesn't even like kids. My lifestyle is too high risk for the kid anyway."

"It's too high risk for you", Bruce muttered, "I wish you'd come home." Jason rolled his eyes.

"Yea, yea."

"He can come spend time with me", Dick said brightly.

"He already has spent too much time with you", Bruce grumbled, I want him to work with other heroes around his own age."

"Don't I get a say?" Damian asked angrily.

"We just want what's best for you kiddo", Dick replied, stroking his hair.

"Alright", Tim sighed, "he can spend some time with me and the Titans." Bruce smiled.

"Thank you. Watch out for him, would you."

"Yea, yea", Tim agreed.

"I don't need to be watched out for", Damian sniffed.

"Of course you do", Jason replied, "you're the littlest one now and the littlest always gets watched out for. It's tradition." They talked together, well into the night, until Damian's eyelids drooped and he sagged in his father's strong arms. Jason shook his head and gave a yawn, stretching.

"Well", he murmured, "I am officially exhausted." With that, he lay back on the bed. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm just gonna sleep in your bed Daddy."

"Yea", Dick agreed, "I'm crashing here tonight Bruce." Tim, who's eyes were glazed over with exhaustion, settled a little more in Dick's lap, where he had been half dozing, and nodded in agreement.

"I'd like to stay too Bruce, if that's ok."

"Of course", Bruce replied, stroking his son's cheek.

"I think Damian's asleep", Dick murmured, reaching out to fondle the boy's hair. Bruce nodded and placed a gentle kiss on the child's forehead. Then, he laid back, placing his son down beside him. Dick snapped his fingers and the lights went out. The moon was high in the sky now, it's silvery light casting shadows in the spacious room like the patterns water makes on walls.

They all settled beneath the sheets, yawning and closing their eyes. There was silence for around ten minutes, until Bruce was on the threshold of sleep, when he heard a tiny voice say, "Father?"

"Yes Damian."

"Am I staying here Father?"

'If you want to. If not, go back to your own bed."

"I think I would like to stay here Father."

"That's fine. Now, go to sleep Damian."

"Alright Father, good night."

"Good night Damian, I love you."

"I…love you also Father."

The morning sunlight streamed through the windows of the manor, illuminating the occupants of the master bedroom, all dozing quietly together. Bruce was in the middle with Damian curled up like a puppy on his chest, one of Bruce's arms on his small form.

Jason was snuggled into the Dark Knight's right side, head on Bruce's chest and Tim sandwiched between the two of them, cuddled up nice and warm with Jason's hands loosely around his waist.

Dick was on Bruce's left, his surrogate Father's strong arm around him and his own arms somewhat around Damian. Jason was the first to wake, blinking drowsily in the light.

"Daddy", he asked softly. Bruce gave a grunt and turned his head to gaze at him.

"Yea?"

"This was nice." Bruce nodded in agreement and closed his eyes again. This was quite nice indeed.


End file.
